Present practice in TFEL panel manufacture comprises the use of ITO, as-deposited and patterned on a glass substrate, as the transparent electrode. The ITO thickness is typically limited to about 0.3 micron due to various problems such as panel breakdown that occurs at the edges of thicker ITO stripes. The electrical conductivity of this ITO material is sufficiently low as to impose limitations on the performance characteristics of TFEL display panels, particularly large area display panels with long ITO electrode stripes.